Nothing to fear on Friday the 13th

Everyone mark your calendars, lock your doors and wear comfortable shoes! The time has once again come; next week marks the first Friday the 13th of the year.

Social media, popular broadcasts and spooky ghost tales all claim this day is full of nothing but bad luck; however, how many people really believe in this terrifying superstition?

“I think that people started saying Friday the 13th was unlucky because of the movies and things making it sound that way,” said Mingo Central sophomore Paige Muncy. “I believe that it’s just another day.”

According to Muncy, all of this hype could have been about any date: Saturday the 7th, Monday the 16th or even Thursday the 20th.

Nonetheless, the eerie idea does have its appeal.

“I’ll admit, when I was younger, I did think it was bad,” said fellow sophomore James Roer. “But when I expected something bad to happen, nothing did.

“At my age now, it doesn’t bother me at all because it is just a regular day like every other day.”

So, maybe Friday the 13th loses its appeal as you grow older? Maybe it’s just another scary story told for amusement?

“It’s more of a joke than anything,” sophomore Kailey Stuart said. “It’s fun to joke and laugh at the superstitions but not actually be worried.

“It’s even kind of dumb when you really think about it to believe in it.”

Besides, what do we even expect to happen on this day? What do we think is so different?

“Most teenagers, even people in general, don’t believe in Friday the 13th anymore. After a few hundred years of all sorts of superstition, we’ve all come to figure out breaking a mirror will not actually ruin the next seven years of your life,” said Stuart.

“I, myself, think it’s a good idea for a holiday to celebrate,” she added. “I love anything with a dark vibe like that or Halloween. It’s a lot of fun to pretend to follow the superstitions, but almost no one is truly afraid in this day and age of something like that.”

Sophomore Sadie Christian even goes as far as to say the unluckiness — or luckiness — of Friday the 13th depends on us. “If you believe in superstitious things, then yes, they will be true. I honestly believe that if you don’t believe in something, it doesn’t exist and won’t bother you.”

So, maybe we don’t have to watch our every step, avoid black cats or pack an umbrella this 13th. Maybe we can just treat it like the long-awaited Friday it is.

“I don’t worry when Friday the 13th rolls around now,” said Roer. “In fact, I like the day. I think it’s kind of cool.”

As many students have already figured out, it is best to embark on this day, as well as every day, with a positive attitude. Tell yourself you’ll have a great, lucky day, and you might just be surprised with how it turns out.

“I’d like to think it all goes back to what they used to say at my elementary school, ‘Have a good day or not. The choice is yours.’ I don’t think Friday the 13th is excluded from that,” Stuart said. “You make your own luck, so make it good.”